Stood On The Edge
by butterfly.cell
Summary: The mind is the hardest of things to heal, and when someone cries out for help in the Doctor's mind, he knows he has to help - but does everyone on the TARDIS agree with the new addition? - Ninth Doctor, Rose, pre-immortality Jack and ?
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Stood On The Edge  
**Rating**: FRT/15  
**Characters/Pairings**: Ninth Doctor, Rose, Pre-immortality Jack, ?  
**Spoilers**: DW S1 and TW S2  
**Warnings**: Angst, Minor gore/violence in later chapters

**A/N**: Massive thanks to **cazmalfoy** and **bandgeek01** (on LiveJournal) for the advice and beta'ing skills!

**Summary**: _The mind is the hardest of things to heal, and when someone cries out for help in the Doctor's mind, he knows he has to help - but does everyone on the TARDIS agree with the new addition?  
_  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of the characters, they sadly belong to RTD, the BBC

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STOOD ON THE EDGE

CHAPTER 1

The TARDIS landed at its destination in its usual fashion – its passengers sprawled across the console, clinging on for dear life. At least, Jack and Rose were. The Doctor was grinning proudly at the ship in front of him, patting the coral beneath his hand.

"Here we are. Arganon Delta." The Doctor looked over to the other two, who were pulling themselves up off the floor. They glanced at each other and turned their attention to the Time Lord.

"What are we here for?" Rose was bouncing with barely contained excitement, a huge smile on her face. The doctor beamed back at her affectionately.

"Think of a world filled with Ancient Egyptian landscapes – and I mean the idealistic ones. Sand dunes and deserts in every direction, with huge bazaars and markets lining the streets of the cities." The Doctor painted the scene perfectly and Rose bit her lip as she listened raptly. No matter where they landed, the Doctor made the places sound perfect. "You can walk for miles in some of them and never find two places selling the same things."

"Weather?" Rose was used to this game and joined in.

"Perfect!" The Doctor grinned. "Sunny for a total of nine months a year, the rain dispersed across them in healthy amounts."

"Sights?" Rose raised her eyebrows and the Doctor folded his arms.

"A multitude of pyramids and underground caverns in this section of the world. Oasis', waterfalls, and lakes on the other side."

"It sounds like two worlds in one!"

"That's exactly what it is." Jack muttered next to her, having observed the whole conversation quietly. The Doctor turned his eyes to the Captain and watched him critically for a moment. When he spoke again, it was to the both of them, his breezy air back. "The key thing to remember about this planet is that they communicate mentally." The Doctor glanced down at the console to check their precise location.

"Telepathy?" Jack said sharply, clarifying his words.

"Yup, though this is one of the most peaceful civilisations in the universe. There's never been a dispute that hasn't been settled by words and negotiations." The Doctor didn't seem phased by Jack's attitude at all.

"No war?" Rose's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Nope. Each year, they search out the most powerful amongst them and, using stations and facilities across the entire planet, they maintain a psychic field to sense passers by and fend them off with redirection if needed." The Doctor smiled, but Jack didn't return it. His expression was still cold and stony. "The people are rotated every few months for the year they're signed up for. Everyone has to give one year, but you can volunteer again after that if you want – though they prefer people to take at least a year with their family before returning."

Rose looked more than a little awed. The Doctor couldn't help but feel incredibly protective over her. She really was still seeing the universe through a child's eyes sometimes.

"But hang on, how will I be able to communicate with them?" Rose's face suddenly fell. As far as she was aware, the TARDIS didn't translate mental signals into words for her.

"The area we're in is used to travellers from different planets. All you have to do is touch their hands, or let them touch yours, for you to receive the words they're saying. Skin contact increases the ease of telepathy a great deal." The Doctor smiled as Rose's expression switched back to a grin of relief. "The natives can speak directly from mind to mind, but it's a little like electrical appliances. People from other planets generally aren't compatible. Even Jack will have to use skin contact to talk to them."

"Right, I'm going to go grab a change of clothes. Don't leave without me!" She raced out of the console room towards her bedroom, leaving the atmosphere several degrees cooler as Jack stood watching the Doctor.

"I'm not going out there." Jack's voice was tinged with anger, but the Doctor knew better than that. Jack was scared.

Since his arrival on the ship, they'd worked together to heal some of the mental damage done to him by the Time Agency, but the very real fact of someone having meddled with his mind had left Jack closed and terrified of all telepathic interactions.

"It's not the same as the Time Agency, Jack. No one's going to take any more of your memories," the Doctor spoke gently, carefully even. He could see Jack's penchant for bolting starting to rise. "You have to soften your shielding and bring it down."

"Why?" Jack spat, fists clenched and muscles primed.

"Because it's considered one of the highest forms of social indecency to shield from others." The Doctor hardened his expression and drew himself up to his full height. "And don't suggest you can just pretend to be like Rose. They can still sense her mind being present. Your shielding makes you drop completely off the radar and there's nothing more suspicious than a missing mentality here."

"What about you? Are you just going to go out there with your head on show to them all?"

"Of course not. But I've got enough practise and experience behind me to allow me to open up sections of my mind - seven hundred odd years of travelling the universe will do that to you." The Doctor shrugged and Jack sneered.

"Like I'm ever going to have that amount of time to work on it!" Jack turned away from the Time Lord and attempted to compose himself.

"You can still try. The reason we're here is as much about you learning to trust others and practise your limiting as it is to show you two this world." The Doctor continued to speak in a slightly cool, professorial manner. As much as he understood and empathised with Jack's history, he couldn't help but feel offended for the citizens of Arganon Delta. This distrust in them shouldn't be allowed.

"When Rose gets back, we're all going to go out there and you're going to drop your shields. You're going to keep them down until we get back into the TARDIS and you're going to bury all of your suspicion and fear."

"Why the hell should I?" Jack snapped, turning round again and glaring at the Doctor.

"Because you need to accept and control your abilities!" The Doctor all but yelled back at him, the two men frozen as they glared at each other.

Neither noticed when Rose appeared in the doorway, rolling her eyes at them. She'd grown used to their bickering over the issue of Jack's 'lessons' but they'd both confided their reasons to her. Without the knowledge of why Jack was so scared and why the Doctor was so determined to remove said fear, Rose didn't think she'd be able to stand the tension that followed their sessions in the 'quiet room'.

"I can practically smell the testosterone in here!" She moved over to Jack and tugged at his arm, dragging his attention away from the Doctor. "Now, will you two please get over what just happened and get outside? We've been cooped up in here for too long."

The ship hummed her agreement and the Doctor sighed heavily, looking up at Rose with a small smile. Jack yanked his arm out of her grasp and reached out to grab his currency card. They'd been modified to hold Arganon Delta's currency as they'd landed and he had a feeling he'd need it.

Without a word, he turned and left the TARDIS, stalking away from the blue box.

Back in the control room, the Doctor watched the door with a faint scowl of frustration. Rose sighed and moved over to him, snatching up the last two cards and pulling him over to the door.

"Stop moping, will you?" She looked at him and he snapped out of his thoughts, looking down at her. "We're on a brand new planet and I want to see everything before we go, yeah?"

"Yeah." The Doctor's face split into a grin and he took over, pulling her from the box and guiding her down a long, winding road towards the first of the ruins.

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**A/N 2**: I promise, the plot picks up soon... The posting schedule is Mondays and Wednesdays with Fridays as a possibility :) I really hope you enjoyed it, comments are majorly appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry this is a cuple of days late - I completely forgot to update over here as well as on LJ! It won't happen again, I promise :) A huge thanks to Jessie Blackwood, WickedWitchoftheSE and Moonlight83 for the comments - I hope you enjoy it and please bear with me, the plot picks up soon!

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CHAPTER 2

The TARDIS had been parked in a shady corner of a large square, bordered by lush green ferns and other foliage on one side and low, rust coloured buildings made from sand on the others. The sky overhead was bright blue and cloudless as the sun beat down comfortingly on the city.

There were two main roads leading from the square, one heading into the wide parade filled with the bustling bazaars and markets and the other leading in the opposite direction, stretching out towards the more scenic aspects of the surrounding area.

Naturally, Jack moved towards the markets.

Only a few feet in, he was bombarded by the faint pressures of mental cries for selling wares and encouraging hints at what he might find on each stall. He was just glad that he couldn't actually interpret the sensations.

Visually, the street exploded with colour. The separate little stalls all showed off their brightest and most colourful items, hanging from poles that extended above the bustling crowds.

Jack swallowed hard and consciously worked at keeping his mind relatively open. He was just glad that the crowd wasn't heaving. There were a lot of people, but it was still possible to weave through them all. In a bid to stop himself committing some heinous crime, he concentrated on the brief images he captured from others as he brushed past them.

It took him about twenty minutes of such practise to locate the jewellery and souvenir sector for the market.

That area was much easier to be in; the atmosphere was calmer and much less urgent. Stalls sold scents and oils for burning, others had candles, all dotted around and between stalls boasting huge, colourful ranges of exotic stones and metals.

His first port of call was to fulfil the tradition he'd adopted a day or two after he'd joined the small TARDIS crew. The thought gave him even more to concentrate on, easing the stress of lowering his mind to relax as he focussed on finding the perfect gift.

The first night he'd spent on board had been a hard one. He'd lain awake all night, shaking from lack of alcohol and drugs that had been on tap in his own ship. He'd got up in the early morning and investigated the ship's supplies. Finding a generous stash of tea, he'd settled for making himself a cup of it.

Rose had joined him, much to his surprise, a few minutes later. She'd proceeded to stay awake with him, to keep him company and keep his mind off the gnawing sensations in his stomach and the shaking in his limbs.

Of course, the next day the Doctor had put him through a rigorous and tiring detox, making him sleep all through the next night. He'd woken up refreshed and free of the uncomfortable and painful feelings – thanks to Rose's insistence on talking to the Doctor.

When they'd touched down for Jack's first visit to a new world with the Doctor – God, it seemed so long ago - with its auctions and markets, Jack had gone off to find them both a gift to say thank you for helping him. For the Doctor, a case of fresh tea – which he seemed to drink a surprising amount of – and for Rose, a beautifully detailed jewellery box seemed perfect.

Inside, he'd left a note with a promise to fill it as they moved across the universe. She'd been very insistent that he kept to his promise.

The memory stayed with him as a kind of good luck charm. It helped him remember there were people who cared about what happened to him again. He'd lived for far too long on his own, in a life where commitment was impossible. His morals and sensibilities had been broken and discarded almost as soon as he had been accepted into the Time Agency.

Now, though, he didn't need to feel like that. With a smile, he glanced over at tables filled with bracelets and bangles, earrings and anklets, pendants and necklaces. It wasn't until he was fully wrapped into the crowd that he noticed a surface covered with promising looking items.

The stall itself was unremarkable at best. A simple wooden construct hung with thin white material to provide a little shade to the woman behind it. She was one of the natives; a thin, elongated humanoid figure, her skin looked soft and was tinted blue. Patterns and markings ran from her right temple down to the neck of the thin, light dress she wore.

Jack summoned up his courage once more and met her eyes, surprised to find a warm, gentle expression in her dark green eyes as she smiled to him. He vaguely realised she must have been sensing his apprehension.

She held out her hand to him, palm upwards in a sign of peace. Jack forced a smile and raised his hand. The woman stayed perfectly calm and perfectly still, letting Jack make the connection, with much the same patience of someone feeding a shy animal.

Whilst his empathetic abilities hadn't been fully worked over by the Doctor, a natural ability to Rose and allowed him to interpret the soft wash he could sense. He tentatively attempted to read her surface emotions and found them echoing gently against his mind, conveying patience and reassurance.

With a much more relaxed expression, he reached out and placed his palm over hers, feeling the link reduce the force it took to keep his shields lowered.

"_What can I do for you, dear?"_

"_I'm looking for a necklace, for a friend."_ A picture of Rose came unbidden into his mind, but the woman smiled.

"_How about this one?"_ With her free hand, she reached for a necklace lying just to one side. Jack stared at it as he took it from her, the gems glittering from where they were suspended and encased with the fine silver wire, like multicoloured dewdrops caught in a spider's web.

"_How much?" _

"_Hmmm… Tell the first person you bump into to come pay me a visit…"_ she thought warmly. A smile split her face at her next words, _"And give me a kiss."_

Jack grinned and leant forwards, the woman closing the gap and their lips meeting. Jack felt a soft pulse against his skin and made sure he earned his gift for Rose. After a pleasantly long moment, the woman pulled away and nodded, beaming and urging him to go and give the necklace to its new owner.

Jack nodded politely and moved back the way he'd come, feeling a rush of relief at how calm and encouraging the interaction had been. A tinge of guilt pointed out how unfair he'd been back in the TARDIS and he resolved to apologise to the Doctor later.

He weaved slowly through the crowds until, quite by accident, he walked headlong into a man moving in the opposite direction. He looked up, about to apologise, when he recognised the species of the man – the soft blue skin colour, the thin, graceful shape of his body and oddly shaped, sea green eyes that he'd been staring into not long before.

He remembered the woman's words back at the stall, the impression that the man she was waiting for was more than just a friend, and smiled at him. Almost as soon as he'd made the connection between the two people, he brushed his fingers against the man's wrist.

"_She's waiting for you."_ He thought knowingly, slowly winding back the last few minutes in his memories for him to follow.

"_Thank you, friend."_ He replied with earnest relief, nodding and hurrying off in the direction Jack had showed him.

He watched for a moment as the man weaved efficiently through the crowds between them and the stall. Jack smiled slightly and turned, making his way straight back to the TARDIS.

He brushed past several more people, making a much more confident effort not to appear reluctant or hostile to them. When he emerged from the market back into the square, he felt much more at ease. The trip really had done him a degree of good.


	3. Chapter 3

Crazy busy week of travelling around and beginning application forms, I'm sorry! I'll be posting twice today and I'll probably post twice on wednesday too to make up for it! thankyou for your patience and I hope you enjoy it!

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CHAPTER 3

Jack stepped into the TARDIS and flung his jacket onto the coat stand without stopping, moving out of the control room and into the corridor that contained the bedrooms. His plan was simply to leave the necklace in the box in Rose's room, but when he heard a gentle humming, he quickly changed his plan.

Rose was sitting at the dresser she'd insisted on having in her room and brushing her hair carefully in the mirror. She didn't notice as Jack slunk inside, entering from an angle that was blind in the mirror, until he was draping something around her neck and fastening it. A hand flew to the new jewellery and she looked up at Jack's reflection, spinning to give him a fierce hug around the middle.

"Thank you!" She looked up and grinned.

Jack smiled in return. "Not at all. Where's big ears?"

"I don't know. He said something about hearing someone - he was distracted the entire time we were out!" Rose sighed and pouted slightly and turned back to the mirror, looking at the necklace again. "Mind you, it was pretty mediocre, nothing compared to the Great Pyramids – and we already did those three times! So we came back early, and he disappeared off."

"I'll see if I can find him," he said gently, squeezing her shoulder in assurance and turning around, moving lightly towards the door.

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and headed out of the room, into the corridor and towards the console room before he reached out to sense the Doctor's mind. Or rather, he reached out to sense the blank stretch of nothing that was the Doctor's mind.

Jack understood completely why the Time Lord kept his mind under such close lock and key. Jack had spent the last decade of his life doing the exact same thing. Every Time Agent was tested for latent psychic ability and those that showed some promise were trained up. He hadn't really cared when he'd been found to have sufficient skill to be put into training.

It hadn't been several years later, when he had a mission in a system full of cultures that communicated psychically, that he'd really paid attention to the skill he'd never developed. There'd been several interplanetary wars going on and the sheer force of the thoughts being flung around in the capital city of one world had made him throw up for days on end. Had the true level of his psychic abilities been discovered before the mission, he would have been trained specifically against what had happened - but the Time Agency's initial ability tests were designed to just give a positive or negative result.

As a result of him reacting so violently to the psychic trauma, he had been shipped off to a training camp for three months, to master closing his mind off. It was only then that he had realised how much easier his life was without the subconscious hints he picked up from people whilst he interacted with them. After he could block himself off, he was his own man.

Now though, over the past few weeks, the Doctor had been diligently trying to reverse the mindset Jack had forced himself into. He had been trying to open the man up, to make him accept and control the fact that he had this ability. Jack had tried his hardest but made very little progress so far.

He reached out with his mind to find the ever present absence of the Doctor's mind. In the ship that was so full of life and so colourful in her mental communication, the gentle, disguised absence of her owner was easy enough to find. The Doctor was in the 'quiet room'; a room kept a good distance from anywhere else on the ship, for obvious reasons. It was the room of choice for the Doctor's lessons. Slowly, Jack headed towards it, the TARDIS humming and warming the passage as he walked through.

Eventually, he approached the room and softly patted the wall in thanks, before knocking on the door. He waited for several moments before he heard a murmur inviting him in.

Gently Jack pushed the door open, looking into the room cautiously. It was nothing more sinister than four walls, a floor and a ceiling, but there was very little else in there. There were no light fittings, no furniture, no trinkets – just a plain room.

It was, however, malleable. When Jack had first stayed in there, the walls had pushed out to provide him with a small recess, similar to something he'd described sitting in at his childhood home. The TARDIS seemed to control the light levels, the soft, yellowish glow pulsing from the ceiling, rippling slightly, as if coming through the surface of an expanse of water. Jack had found it so peaceful that he'd spent almost five hours just lying on his back and watching the ceiling and its light show.

The TARDIS had decided to keep him company, playing around with the patterns and colours of the light, making him smile and easing the nervous tension that had threaded his muscles together. It had been such an effective way of relaxing him and cheering him up after a particularly traumatic session with the Doctor that the ship had started playing light shows in his own room when he was restless or unable to sleep.

Now though, the lights were simply dimmed; covering the ceiling in a uniform, level way – much more like the Doctor's state of mind as he meditated. He was sat in the centre of the room, cross-legged and silent as he concentrated on something, a frown of confusion etched into his forehead.

As if feeling the air move around him, he looked up and grimaced as Jack walked in.

"Can you hear it, Jack?" he asked, frustration tinting his tone.

"Hear what?" Jack cocked an eyebrow and sat down opposite the man, as he was being gestured to do. He removed his shoes, like the Doctor and crossed his legs, settling down.

"There's something - some_one_ – calling… can't you hear it?" He looked up at Jack seriously, but the Captain just shrugged.

"Nope." He gave the Time Lord an apologetic look and shifted slightly.

"How bloody dense do you want to be?" The Doctor scowled slightly, annoyance evident.

Jack moved instantly to the defensive. "Excuse me if I'm not hearing things!"

"That's not the point." The Doctor sighed heavily and reached forwards to grab Jack's hands, holding them firmly. "Reach out and listen. Just _listen_ to everything."

Jack snorted sceptically but closed his eyes at a stern look, trying to pull down his walls a little. He mentally heard the Doctor clearing his throat impatiently and Jack worked faster at decoding his defences. He began to hear a whisper in his thoughts, something fearful and pained and Jack flinched, pulling back instinctively.

His eyes snapped open and he wrenched his hands from the Doctor's, glaring at him.

"What did you do that for?" Jack demanded angrily, feeling like his privacy had been invaded. He hadn't even taken the majority of his defences down and he'd felt the presence like a shower of acidic snow against his mind.

"Because the source is a good half mile away," the Doctor said thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin in contemplation. If the cries were that forceful at this distance, he didn't want to imagine the sheer torture the source must have been under.

Not only that, but his suspicions had been confirmed by Jack. It was easier for psychic beings to connect to others from the same species, so the Doctor knew that if the Captain could hear the voice as well, its owner was more that likely to be of Human origin.

"There's nothing you can do but listen in here, so I don't see the issue." Jack shrugged and stood up again, heading towards where he'd kicked his boots.

"Good point." The Doctor suddenly grinned and jumped to his feet, pulling his shoes back on and moving to the door before Jack had even got his foot into his first boot. The Doctor turned expectantly. "Well? Come on then!"


	4. Chapter 4

Second of tonight's double post - enjoy!

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CHAPTER 4

Jack trailed slightly behind the other two as they closed in on the hospital-like establishment on the other side of the vast market.

The journey from the square to the building they were at now had been filled with confusion and more than a little anticipation from the Doctor and Rose. Every so often, the Time Lord would stop still and focus his thoughts, urging Jack to do the same. With some regret, Jack realised that he owed it to the other man to at least try, but he couldn't help feeling like he was going backwards with working on his trust issues.

He trusted the Doctor with his life now, and the Doctor knew every aspect of his mind and history from back to front. Dropping his shields with the Time Lord wasn't a hard thing to do anymore, though it still took a little effort. Dropping his shields with the kind woman behind the jewellery store and her partner had been easy as well, for their presence in his mind had been gentle and polite.

The mind they were trying to find was filled with fear and pain. A sole voice screaming in the dark against something that no one else understood. It completely terrified Jack.

The Doctor could sense it like a beacon and was doing his best to provide a backup to Jack's mind when he dared pull his defences down a little. He understood the dilemma intensely. Every time Jack heard the voice screaming, he remembered the day he lost his brother. Every time he heard the voice, he saw his brother behind it, crying out to him and him being unable to do anything.

When they finally reached the other side of the market stalls, the Doctor was utterly torn.

He came to a halt and allowed himself to think. He'd been concentrating on the voice for long enough to gauge some of the personality behind it. There was a timbre to the screaming, a consistency to the thoughts that had assured him that the person was still sane. That same feeling had told him that this man wasn't Jack's little brother.

But that same fact brought him to his dilemma.

Did he tell Jack that this was a stranger? Did he tell Jack that this wasn't his brother, that he'd been through all this discomfort and fear for seemingly no reason? It could make it easier for Jack to enter the building, but it could also make it emotionally so much harder.

Jack watched the Time Lord staring at the building apprehensively. The voice was a constant echo in his mind and it made his teeth ache. He kept thinking of his brother, of Gray, and it was so hard not to expect him to be sitting in whatever room they found the source in. Deep inside him, he knew it wasn't him, he knew could tell from the thoughts and the screams – but that didn't stop the hope that was swelling in his heart.

Now though, standing outside the vast, rust coloured building, Jack couldn't say that out loud. He stood and looked over the mud and sand walls, the dark, cool shadow staring invitingly at him from the doorway. _Just a few more steps, then you'll know for certain…_ his mind was weedling away at him and he was so close to listening.

He was jerked from his thoughts by the Doctor. He forced him to pull down some of his mental walls, insisting that he needed back up in case the source of the disturbance was hostile. It was a thinly veiled ploy to keep him engaged in the glorified lesson. Jack just glared at him, but agreed.

Now though, the closer they got, the more violated and exposed he felt. He could hear the screams and cries for mercy; all of which went unanswered as the trauma deepened. Jack felt shaken to his core and he had the sneaking suspicion that the whole experience was going to leave him with a killer headache. The Doctor couldn't help but feel the thought through the link between his and Jack's mind, and silently agreed.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor and I'm here about a patient of yours." He smiled brightly at the woman standing behind a desk in the lobby. He knew the communication rules were relaxed within healing houses, the aim to reduce stress on everyone within.

Still, the woman glanced up with golden eyes and frowned slightly. "Which patient would that be?"

"I'm not sure of the name, but I was contacted about severe psychic trauma, possibly shock."

"Oh! Yes. Let me take you to him! I'm so glad you've come; we've exhausted all our options. Nothing we do seems to have any effect on him." The woman led the three of them through the building and up a flight of stairs. "He hasn't eaten or drunk anything since he came here. He doesn't even wake up anymore. We've had our best healers from across the continent visit, but none can reach through to him. He's only been here for a couple of weeks, but he's been getting rapidly worse."

"Where did he come from?" Rose asked with a slight frown.

"A ship carrying supplies of cloth and perfumes from Crux landed, guiding the ambulance with him onboard. Apparently they'd stumbled across an abandoned marauder camp on their travels and rescued the few who were still alive." Her voice trembled as she spoke. "They said there were bodies everywhere, hundreds of them; all massacred… there were about fifteen of the poor souls still alive, chained up and wasting away."

Her voice trailed off and they continued walking in silence, everyone lost in their thoughts. Finally, the woman stopped outside a room and fumbled for a key attached to the waistband of her tunic.

The Doctor frowned slightly at the fact that this seemingly incapacitated person was locked up, but was distracted from confronting her about it almost immediately. Another wave of anguish hit him, almost as if unleashed by the absence of the wood separating him from the source.

He managed to block out most of the pain and took a moment to glance around the room. At the sight of the woman's key, he'd feared it to be little more than a cell. He was, however, pleasantly surprised to find a large, spacious room furnished with a solid wood bed and a few other staple pieces of furniture, including a dresser. Across from the door was a large window with soft, light drapes framing it, the blinds pushed out to let a rush of warm, fresh air into the room.

On one side of the window, half obscured in the thin shadows cast from the edge of the opening, was a large overstuffed armchair, covered in the same soft material as the drapes.

In the middle of the chair, curled tightly into a ball, was a young man, wrapped tightly in a blanket despite the heat. The Doctor quickly crossed to him, knowing from the force of the screaming that every second mattered. The orderly excused herself back to her duties at the front desk and bowed politely as Rose stepped into the room, following the Doctor.

The young woman slowly took a few paces forwards, watching as the Doctor knelt in front of the man and studied him. The man had short brown hair - it appeared as though it'd been shorn off relatively recently - and a troubled twist to his unconscious expression. The arm poking out from the deep purple blanket was scarily thin.

She stayed quiet and watched as the Doctor murmured to him, receiving no response. She heard him sigh before reaching out to touch the young man's face gently. At that instant, some of the tension contorting his features faded and he seemed to turn into the place where his skin made contact with someone else's.

She smiled slightly as his laboured breathing eased, hands clasping in front of her. She still felt left out, though at least the Doctor was helping him. _Jack should be here, he could help as well,_ she thought gently, turning to look for him.

*

Out in the hall, Jack was taking his sweet time walking towards the room. He thought briefly about how calm and tranquil the building was. The windows at each end of the corridor let soft cascades of natural light filter in, dust particles hanging lazily in the air. He'd been to many hospitals – for a wide variety of reasons – in his past, and this was possibly one of the most calming atmospheres he'd felt within one.

If he ignored the screaming he could hear inside his head.

He'd felt the onslaught lessen slightly and the heavy band around his chest had relaxed a small amount, though he still felt a weight there as he approached the open door.

He took an unconsciously deep breath as he stepped into the room, looking over to the two men huddled and silhouetted by the sun streaming through the window.

The haunted eyes of the young man in the chair snapped open wildly, staring straight at Jack, the Captain meeting them with a frown, wincing as he felt a slight tug in his mind and a sudden rise in the stream of thoughts. As if stung, the young man looked away.

The moment had occurred and ended in a fraction of a heartbeat.

By the time the Doctor looked up, the young man's eyes were cast onto the floor in the corner of the room, his entire frame shaking from a non-existent chill. The Time Lord glanced up and around, sighting Jack in the doorway and beckoning him over.

Together, they helped him up from the chair, guiding him towards the door. He pushed away from them weakly and tried to move away, not able to take more than a step or two before his knees buckled and Jack caught him instinctively. The Doctor was already speaking to Rose, murmuring anxiously whilst Jack kept the young man standing. A deep feeling of unease settled as the thin, weakened frame against him clung to his shirt as though it were a lifeline.

Before he could voice his opinion, the Doctor was moving to the door, obviously in a hurry. Jack was left with no option other than to carry the young man, knowing it would take all day for him to walk out of there himself. Jack held him awkwardly, arms tensed to the bone as he hooked them around his shoulders and under his knees.

_At least he isn't heavy_, Jack thought ruefully, ignoring his senses telling him to run away as fast as he could. He couldn't even begin to explain why he felt it. Instead, Jack threw his walls back up, despite a disapproving look from the Doctor. He looked at him coolly and waited for the Time Lord to lead them out of the place.

"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing?" a new woman, older than the first, greeted them in a harsh and strict tone as they attempted to leave the building.

"I'm his personal physician and I've come to take him back to my facilities to ensure that he gets the appropriate treatment for psychic shock and trauma." The Doctor smiled pleasantly, hands clasped behind his back and watching her expectantly.

"You can't just take him from here like this!"

"I'll think you find we can." Rose said sharply, standing next to the Doctor with her arms folded, playing the 'bad cop' in the roles they so often took when faced with someone in their way. The older woman bristled and the Doctor laid a hand on her shoulder to calm her, smiling apologetically.

"I'm sorry, but it's vital that we get him back as soon as possible, to avoid any permanent damage. I hope you understand." She pursed her lips and frowned at the Doctor before sighing and nodding, bidding them a safe journey and allowing them to continue on their way.

The Doctor didn't say out loud how true his words had been. The young man had already begun to slip back into the constant nightmare they'd found him in.


	5. Chapter 5

I'm going to post one chapter tonight, one tomorrow night now - as I have the time! Please enjoy

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CHAPTER 5

Rose was thoroughly disturbed when she woke the next morning to find the TARDIS quiet. She was usually the last of the three to wake and ready herself but today, as she headed out of her room and padded down to the kitchen area, she was completely alone.

There was no Jack rattling around and singing or dancing or trying to cook breakfast. There was no Doctor sitting and quietly fuming at the amount of mess the other man made. There was no flirtatious banter met with an affectionate sarcasm and there was no laughter echoing through the hallways.

There was nothing.

She shivered as she turned the kettle on and settled for making herself a cup of tea. As she stood by the counter, she tied her hair up and out of the way before wrapping her dressing gown tighter around herself and cuddling down into the soft material.

"You're up early."

She turned to find the Doctor standing in the doorway, smiling at her gently. "I think you'll find that you're just up late. I didn't know it was even possible for you to sleep in!" She grinned at him and he made a face of mock anguish.

"Not true, Miss Tyler!" He grinned and gently shoved her out of the way, so he could make them both a drink. She smiled and hopped up to sit on the counter next to him, watching as he worked. "I was up all night trying to help Ianto."

"Ianto?" She frowned slightly.

"Oh. The young man from yesterday, he's called Ianto Jones."

"Ahhh, Welsh?"

"Not necessarily. But I think there's a high possibility that he's from an Earth colony, one similar to where Jack's from." He smiled at her and she returned it, letting the silence fall between them gently.

After a while, the nagging question pulled at her. "How is he, Doctor?"

"Not well. He was kidnapped in a raid on his village a little over than three years ago. Captured, held and tortured, left amongst the corpses and other broken survivors until help finally came." Rose stilled in horror and the Doctor grimaced as he finished the drinks, handing the pink and purple mug to Rose. "I'll help him, I promise."

She smiled tentatively and nodded, taking a sip of her drink.

*

Images flooded his dreams: _Images of screaming people, of blood and corpses, of tortured bodies amongst crying, broken people. He could smell the stench of fear and pain and he could feel every single lash against the young man's skin as he watched_.

He tossed and turned in his sleep, trying to break free of what had caught him, but nothing worked.

He just kept _seeing_.

"Gray!" Jack woke with a start, shooting bolt upright in his bed. Sweat beaded on his forehead and neck as he looked around, his eyes wide with fear.

He was breathing heavily, trying to get a grasp on what had just happened. He hadn't seen anything like that before. None of his dreams were ever _that _vivid. He rubbed his eyes hard and swung his legs out of bed, toes curling slightly when he felt the cool floor beneath them.

He walked sluggishly across the room to his dresser, changing into a clean pair of boxers and pulling on a clean t-shirt. God, he was tired. He felt like he hadn't slept at all. With a forceful yawn, he ran his fingers through his hair and headed out of his room, following the smell of pancakes cooking.

The dream echoed and reverberated through his mind as he stumbled into the kitchen area and flicked the kettle on.

"Hey, Jack. Glad you could finally join us." Rose greeted him warmly. He forced a smile and a weary wave. He avoided the Doctor's eyes. The man was already watching him carefully. It was at least six hours after he himself had woken and Jack never usually slept this late either.

"Are you okay? You're looking pretty shaky." He moved closer to Jack, steadying his elbow as he swayed slightly.

"Yeah. Just didn't get much sleep." Jack tried not to yawn again, or let the Doctor get a good look at his face. The Time Lord had an annoying ability of being able to read Jack like a book. Now was not the time for him to do so.

Jack's hands moved in perfect, automated memory as he made himself a cup of tea. His mind was already back on what he'd seen during his sleep. The creatures were so horribly familiar to him and he refused to consider what that might mean.

The screaming had been terrible. Everyone around pumped out feelings of fear and horror, but the worst was the pain. It consumed everything and it was all he could do to block out the phantom stabbing sensations across his back and legs. The image had then shifted, moving to find himself in a queue. That had almost forced him to wake up, but a smothering weight had kept him there, watching and waiting.

All he had been able to see was one of the huge, hulking creatures coming towards him, a branding iron white hot in its clutch as it moved closer and closer, the heat prickling his skin, before…

"What's that memory?" The Doctor's voice was sharp, snapping him roughly from the thought.

Jack felt his head jerk slightly as he took sharp, deep breath in, turning to look at the Doctor in confusion. "I- I don't know." Jack's voice was distant, his eyes a little glazed over.

The Doctor crossed the room quickly, taking him by the arms once more and looking hard at him. "It's not yours, is it?" he said harshly, his grip tightening as Jack shook his head mutely.

He felt the Doctor ease his way into his consciousness, holding and investigating the dream that had plagued him all night. "Ianto's?" he asked gently, soothingly, already noticing that there was something wrong with Jack's thought process – more than just a misplaced memory.

Jack nodded silently. He didn't even know how 'the young man' had become 'Ianto' within his head - he only knew that he had.

The Doctor sighed sympathetically and motioned for Rose to come and take care of the Captain.

She hurried across the room and pulled Jack into a warm hug, which he leaned into with a sigh. He could feel the Doctor's hands on his temples and he could feel the warmth and safety of his mental presence. Gently, the Time Lord laid a barricade around Jack's mind, blocking out the terrifying nightmares and easing the 'background noise' of Ianto's current thoughts.

"Don't worry, Jack. I'm going to help him," the older man spoke gently and pressed a soft kiss to the captain's forehead before indicating for Rose to take him back through to his bedroom.

The two walked slowly through the corridor, Jack leaning slightly on her as Rose wrapped her arms around his middle to support him. She soon had him lying down in bed, wrapped loosely in his blanket with the lights dimmed.

As she was leaving, a soft, worried muttering started and she felt a pang of sympathy for him.

Without a second thought, she moved back across the room and laid down behind him, propping her head up with one arm, her free hand running across Jack's arm gently as she started to hum – just as she had done the night before the Doctor could clean him of his addictions.

As Jack drifted into a deeper sleep, he dreamt of a disembodied voice singing and a strange, beautiful, sunset across the Boeshane Peninsula. All he could remember from those last moments of half consciousness was a feeling of warmth and comfort from the presence beside him.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry I got so sidetracked guys.. there's no real excuse, I'm just really sorry! Thankyou for your patience though =]

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CHAPTER 6

The Doctor watched the scene in Jack's room for a few moments with an affectionate smile. It was fantastic the way Rose so readily spent her time with Jack when he was in need, despite the fact that they'd only known the Captain for a few months. Sometimes, he had to actively remind himself that she was still only nineteen.

_That's Rose for you,_ he thought gently as he turned away and headed towards the 'quiet room', where he'd settled the young man the night before.

It had taken him a long time to get anything coherent out of the boy, and none of it had been spoken. After what had felt like hours, he'd discovered that his family called him 'Ianto' and that he thought his family name was 'Jones'. In the hospital, it had seemed to the Doctor that the young man was guessing his name, taking a wild stab in the dark to find something he could define himself by. Now though, as he'd told the Doctor his name, the young man had known it was the definite answer and was no longer struggling to remember it.

Ianto didn't remember how old he was or where he was from, but at least having a name to use would help the Doctor re-establish the boy's mind.

It seemed like he was clinging to his sanity by his bloodied and dislocated fingertips – and the Doctor wasn't surprised.

Even now, as he turned into the corridor leading to the room, the Doctor could hear the screams and pleading and he could feel the fear radiating off the young man. No wonder he was terrified. His dreams and memories were so constant and horrific.

He sighed slightly and placed his palm against the door, the TARDIS humming her approval as she opened it to let him in. Carefully, he stepped inside, closed the door and looked over to find the young man curled up in the alcove filled with bedding.

Ianto was still clutching the soft purple blanket around him and his body was pressed hard against the back wall, his face fearful. The Doctor removed his shoes and jacket, laying them carefully next to the door and walked across, kneeling next to the bed and placing his fingers on the young man's temple.

… _Burning. The world smelt of charred flesh and metal and guns. So painful and the horror… "Jesus, the horror!"– Those creatures… Fangs dripping with acid… That smell… All that hatred and anger… "Help! Please, someone help me!" _

_"Ianto?" the Doctor asked gently, standing at the edge of the young man's mind. He'd had to stop himself from flinching at the sound of the young man's cries as his memories blurred around them. _

_His subconscious had formed a simple, darkened room inside his mind. All Ianto's thoughts and memories played in full, terrifying colour across the opposite wall, like a cinema screen. The Time Lord stood at the edge, waiting for the curled, huddled figure to acknowledge him behind the onslaught. _

_"Who're you talking to?" He looked up, startled and wild-eyed, gaze flickering between the wash of memories and the Doctor's solid, calming presence._

_"You." _

_"I'm not… I don't know… Where am I?" He frowned, eyes filled with tears of annoyance. His voice died down from being sure and confident, to nothing more than a weak plea. _

_"You're in the TARDIS."_

_"TARDIS?"_

_"My spaceship. I'm here to make you better, to help." The Doctor paused, waiting for Ianto to acknowledge his words. When he didn't respond, the Doctor continued, "Do you remember anything about last night?"_

_He watched as the young man's recollections flew through his mind. The figure shrunk away from memories of injections and poultices and ointments that did nothing but make him feel physically dizzy. _

_"Yes, that," the Doctor agreed with a nod. "But what happened after that?"_

_Ianto remembered the sound of voices, as if through a wall or underwater, and something touching his cheek – it was so different to the memories, so comforting. He remembered feeling another presence approaching, half blocked, half open, and resentful. "Did I do something against him?" He'd opened his eyes to see who it could be. Blue, so blue it almost hurt, staring at him in shock and fear, as if he was one of the creatures himself… But then the other had pulled him from the chair. _

_He remembered trying to walk for the first time in months, but he fell and he'd been picked up. Strong arms, filled with tension – "I must've done something, surely" – but the soft voices faded and he was lost again, he couldn't surface, it wouldn't let him and, fuck, it hurt so much!_

_"No. Ianto, stay with me. I need you to keep going," the voice said, reaching out to grip his arm, to anchor him back. _

_He swallowed against the bile and pushed feebly past the memories until he reached the room he was sitting in, lying down with the Doctor holding his wrist loosely and linking with him. He wasn't alone anymore; there was someone to protect him now._

_They'd talked, he'd struggled and fought to grasp a tighter hold on himself, but he slipped back every time. He'd fought harder as he felt the ghost of some key piece of knowledge sneering at his weakness. He'd pushed harder and he'd remembered. _

_"I'm Ianto Jones, aren't I? That's my name. I remember now."_

_"That's good." The man radiated warmth and peacefulness and Ianto sighed against it, feeling his cold bones begin to return to him a little. "Now, do you feel ready to remember some more?"_

_"I don't know…"_

_"Okay. We'll take this slowly. It's vital that you begin to remember." The Doctor let him quiet himself for a few moments, calming the tension that was beginning to rise. "Can you feel your grip tightening on yourself?"_

_Ianto managed to nod. Before the Doctor had found him, it had been nothing more than a thread that kept him there, but now he had his fingertips on the edge. He had some purchase. _

_"Good. Now, lets go back. Can you remember your age?"_

*

Jack woke to the soft smell of perfume and a hot cup of tea. It was possibly one of the most pleasant scents he knew of.

"Morning, Captain." The voice was amused and gentle and Jack blinked his eyes open. Rose smiled at him from where she sat on one side of the bed, blowing gently on a mug of steaming liquid, and Jack frowned slightly.

"Morning?" He pushed himself into an upright position.

"Yup. You've been sleeping since the afternoon before last." Rose handed him a second cup of tea and Jack accepted it with gracious hands. He shuddered a little at the echoes in his mind and took a sip.

"Christ, tea's never tasted so good." Jack sighed happily and sunk back down against the pillows.

The whisperings in the back of his mind were hardly noticeable, but he couldn't ignore them. Instead of fighting it, he closed his eyes and let his mind blank out.

_The brand was hot and intensely painful as it sunk into his flesh, burning the mark on in an instant. He screamed in agony, but they didn't stop. They threw him to one side and moved to the next. It was a never-ending conveyer belt of slaves and captives. Many died just from the brand and after a few days, he'd begun to wish it had finished him off as well_…

Jack's eyes snapped open and he sighed, pushing the whispers back. He glared at the ceiling and finished his drink off. The TARDIS was doing her best to help, but even the gentle light show that pulsated across the space above couldn't shake the unease in his heart.

Less than a minute later, he was out of bed and getting changed. He slammed the door to his bathroom, leaving Rose watching the door with a grimace.

She'd never known him to be that temperamental. But then, she supposed she hadn't really known him long enough. Sighing heavily, she gathered up the mugs and moved from the room. She had a feeling that Jack would want to be alone for a while longer. She was reasonably certain that he would come find her if he felt like talking later.

She ventured back to the kitchen, finding the TARDIS, yet again, empty. If it wasn't from the reassuring lighting and warmth that the ship set out for her, she would've felt quite uncomfortable. It was times like then that she almost wished she were back home. The TARDIS could be a very lonely place at times. She hated the thought of how long the Doctor had been alone here.

Whilst she knew that Ianto needed all the help he could get, it didn't stop her feeling the tiniest bit jealous about the amount of time the Doctor was giving over to him. She'd only seen him at meals and occasionally in the corridors since they had first found Ianto. With another grimace – this time at herself – she turned back to making sandwiches for lunch.

She got the feeling the other people on board the ship wouldn't be in the most sociable of moods later.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys, I'm back again! I've had to spend the last couple of weeks working on a project to get me (hopefully) into the art school I want to go to next year and I've been strugglign with some of my other lessons so my free time's been a bit limited... I'm back with more fic though =D

thanks for the patience!

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CHAPTER 7

Almost an hour - and several platefuls of steadily more extravagant sandwiches - later Rose heard footsteps growing closer. She fetched some mugs from one of the cupboards and turned the kettle on. As she was pouring the hot water, she was joined by the Doctor an extremely shaky Ianto.

The young man glanced the room, attempting to quash his curiosity. When he caught Rose's eyes, he blushed and quickly looked away. The Doctor put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. He looked up and nodded slightly, letting the Time Lord guide him to a chair.

He looked over at Rose, who stood awkwardly by the work surface, unsure what to do with herself.

"Ianto, this is my friend, Rose."

The young man glanced up and Rose smiled tentatively. He returned it a little weakly and, encouraged, Rose handed him a cup of tea. She passed the Doctor one and took a seat opposite the young man.

Ianto opened his mouth slightly, as if to speak, but thought better of it, looking down at his hands with a frown.

The Time Lord grimaced slightly. "Rose, I need some help with a message I just got," the Doctor spoke brightly and nodded towards the door.

Without missing a beat, Rose smiled in return and followed him out of the room and down the corridor to the control room.

"He can't talk, can he?" Rose asked quietly, not waiting for the Doctor to speak.

He didn't need to. Instead, he simply shook his head. "At some point over the last few years, he just forgot how to. Whether it was forced or not, I don't know, but it's most likely reversible."

He leant against the console and Rose took a seat on the chairs, waiting for him to speak again. "A couple of hours ago, he remembered something which just made him click back together. It was like his identity was gone before, like he had nothing to ground him at all. All of a sudden, it was back and he didn't have to struggle to remember the basics anymore. He was able to wake himself up after that; to get a degree of control back, though I don't think it's easy for him."

"That's a good thing, right?" Rose asked, frowning slightly.

The Doctor looked taken aback and suddenly grinned. "Yeah! It's fantastic! But the thing is, once that barrier broke, his personality came back to him almost completely and now he wants to thank you for helping yesterday." The Doctor smiled warmly and Rose flushed slightly at the expression.

"But he can't speak, right?" she asked, looking a little dubious. "And I'm not psychic like you three…"

"Exactly. There is a way he can communicate though, but he wanted to make sure you agreed before he did it." The Doctor held out his hand. "It's very similar to what we were doing back on the planet surface, but it will be far stronger because you're more genetically similar to him."

Rose hesitated for a moment before grasping the large hand tightly. He beamed at her and she smiled back slightly.

_"Don't be alarmed."_ It was the Doctor, but his voice was clearer and richer – and much easier to locate than voices had been whilst they were sightseeing. It was like when Mickey insisted she got new speakers for her stereo and all of a sudden, there was a new dimension to the music. She looked up at the Doctor in shock, but he squeezed her hand in assurance.

_"I'm not. I can hear you so much quicker than the people back on the planet… It's like the difference between email and instant messenger,"_ Rose replied, doing her best to just think the words rather than speak them.

_"Yeah, just like that."_ The Doctor smiled and his face crinkled in amusement. Rose couldn't help but grin in reply. _"You think you'll be okay doing this with Ianto?"_

_"I think so, yeah. I'd like to be able to talk to him."_ Rose nodded.

_"Good. Although… Make an effort to speak out loud to him as much as you can. It might help unlock his speech,"_ the Doctor added before letting go of her hand and speaking out loud. "He'll be wondering where we got to! Wouldn't want him to think we were up to anything."

"Oh, no. Of course not," Rose replied sarcastically, making her way back to the kitchen brightly.

The Doctor watched her for a moment before following her with an affectionate smile.

He slowed as he reached the room and saw Rose taking the seat next to Ianto. He sat leant back against the doorframe and watched as Ianto held his hand out tentatively. In much the same manner as she'd taken the Doctor's hand, Rose gripped Ianto's confidently, fixing her eyes with Ianto's. The Doctor listened closely, but it wasn't hard to hear their conversation from Ianto's mind.

_"Hello, I'm Rose."_

_"Ianto…"_ He smiled tentatively, obviously making an effort to make eye contact. _"Thank you for the other day…"_

_"It was all the Doctor really. There's no need to thank me."_

_"I heard what you said to the matron when we were leaving. She wouldn't have listened to him if he wasn't being the 'good guy'."_

Rose rolled her eyes and the Doctor smiled at her, urging her to carry on. _"So, what do you think of the TARDIS?"_

_"She's very… unusual. Very different to ships I can remember, but a good kind of different." _

At his words, Rose got an image or an impression of the ship being completely alive; energy and life pulsing through her, the walls humming and weaving a warm calm around them. She guessed she was seeing things from Ianto's perspective and felt slightly jealous at the vibrancy of the thought.

Her first time onboard the ship had been only a fraction of what Ianto saw. She almost felt like a traitor for not seeing her in all her glory.

"Don't think like that, Rose," the Doctor said gently.

She looked up and grimaced, but he just shrugged. Rose was just about to turn her attention back to Ianto when she heard stomping footsteps getting gradually louder.

The Doctor only just managed to get out of the way in time for Jack to storm into the room and head to the coffee machine he'd insisted on getting that last time they had been on earth.

For a moment, no one spoke.

"Morning, Jack," the Doctor greeted brightly, as if nothing had happened.

Jack just grunted his reply as he turned the heater on to boil the water. He was about to speak again when he heard a question – slung like lightning – from Jack to Ianto.

_"What were they called?"_ The sentence was seared with bitterness, fear and accusation.

The young man sat in stunned silence for a moment. _"I… I don't know…"_ he managed to stammer back, his thoughts juddering with uncertainty.

Jack slammed a fist down on the work surface. _"Bollocks! What were they called?"_

_"I don't know! I never heard them call themselves anything!"_

The Doctor felt Ianto's mind cower from the distress and anger pouring from Jack and he knew that the progress they'd made was going to slip away in a moment; Jack's anger forcing memories of the torture back to the surface.

He was, however, intensely surprised at the strength of their link – especially as they'd not spent time together yet.

"Jack, I found some problems with the wiring in the console that I could use your help with," the Doctor spoke out loud once more, his voice commanding respect from the Captain.

Jack looked at him, his face grim and his eyes dark. He nodded sharply and grabbed his mug from the work surface, coffee sloshing wildly over the sides as he left the room.


	8. Chapter 8

My exams are all done, so I'm just going to blitz this fic now... It's about half way through... I'll start posting the 'sequel' when I've finished and have started posting to LJ. I promise to keep in sync this time!

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CHAPTER 8

The Doctor glanced at the two sitting at the table and shrugged in apology before following Jack out into the main TARDIS.

As they walked silently through the corridors, the TARDIS made a point of deliberately short-circuiting and tangling some of the wiring inside the central console. It wasn't the most vital of circuits, but it was still important enough for the Doctor to give to Jack, and for Jack to be unable to refuse.

"I think we need to have a talk," the Doctor finally said, a few minutes after he'd set Jack to work on some of 'damage'. He saw the man still and sigh heavily.

"What about?" His voice sounded deadened and resigned, and the Doctor grimaced.

"You know what about," he said gently, more the chiding uncle than the stern father. "Why did you speak like that to Ianto?"

"He… He should know who they are," Jack finally said, stubbornly falling back into silence as they worked.

"Why though? You saw him when we found him… There's nothing to suggest that the captives shared any information with them at all." The Doctor stopped what he was doing completely and watched Jack. He knew exactly what the answer was to his following question, but he needed to hear Jack say it. "What made you feel so strongly about it?"

"My… my little brother…" Jack said quietly, still rummaging into the open floor panel. "They took him when I was thirteen… I spent a decade searching for him. When we found _him_… I thought we'd found Gray."

The Doctor closed his eyes in a silent curse at himself. He should've been able to see through Jack's attack on Ianto. He should've concentrated on the motives behind Jack's actions. He'd not spent any time with Jack since he'd lain the mental confines, not even considering the impact Ianto's progress would have on Jack.

"Was it the same race then?" He continued to play dumb, as if he'd forgotten what Jack had revealed in their sessions back when he first arrived.

"Yeah… from what I could see in those dreams I was having. Doctor, I let go of his hand." Jack pulled himself up out of the floor and sat back, staring at his hands. "It's my fault. We were running and I didn't notice."

"You were only a child, Jack. There's nothing you could've done." The Doctor smiled sadly and Jack glanced up with a dark expression.

"I thought he'd know who they were. It was my last chance." Jack sighed heavily and bit hard on his tongue to stop the tears that were threatening to fall.

"No, it wasn't." The Doctor's voice was strong and decisive, making Jack look up with a slight frown. "Once we've got Ianto sorted out, we'll go looking for your brother," he promised.

Jack stared at him for a long moment before nodding slowly. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Now, can you please ease up on Ianto?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows in surprise as Jack's face darkened once more. "What?"

"I don't like him being around," Jack said bluntly, turning back to his work.

"Why?" The Doctor felt like there was something crucial that he hadn't been told.

"It's just… He's in my mind all the time. Not consciously, just there, like a channel in the background that hovers on the periphery." Jack grimaced. "All his dreams are flooding through and his thoughts – even now – are getting stronger, louder… He's bleeding through into my head and I don't like it."

The Doctor frowned and let Jack get back to his work. He'd put a layer around Jack's mind as a temporary measure in the hopes that he'd adjust to being around psychics again. He still aimed to help Ianto shield at a more efficient level, but they'd had a lesson in basics that morning already. He should still have some residual ones up.

Besides, Jack shielded as if his life depended on it – and the Doctor suspected it had, at some point in the past – so he shouldn't be able to hear anything at all. The Doctor reached out towards the other man's mind, but was met by the usual wall of absence – strong and hostile in the comfort of the ship. There was no way that anything was getting in there and that should include Ianto's projected nightmares.

It would need much more observation and possibly some intervention from the TARDIS in a new 'quiet room' to work out this troubling development, but the Doctor wasn't sure how much of the intense friction and grating feelings either men could take. He made a mental note to begin finding a new room the moment Ianto could sleep with his own shield up.

He let Jack's silence wash over him and they worked together for another couple of hours until the TARDIS was as good as new. When Jack pulled the floor cover back into place and wiped his hands on his jeans, the Doctor could sense a slight relaxation in him. It was tenuous and rapidly beginning to wane, but at least this little exercise had had some effect.

"Can you run her through some scans, Jack? You know, make sure everything's up and running?" The Doctor smiled brightly and Jack shot him a strange look, nodding finally before turning to the console.

He wasn't stupid; he knew there'd been nothing wrong with the TARDIS. He knew it had been a rouse to get him away from Ianto. There was no more need for the Doctor's continued charade.

He could feel the buzzing pressure building in the back of his mind again and did his best to block it, throwing up every barrier he knew of - and a few he didn't think really existed. He rubbed wearily at his temples before sighing and turning away from the console, the TARDIS humming her happy thanks at his work.

Without looking up at the Doctor, he headed off down the corridor to his room. He planned to lay in the dark for a while longer, maybe read a book if he felt like it a little later on. Most importantly, he intended to ignore the unwanted presence in his mind.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Jack hadn't slept for more than a few hours at a time. The voices echoing into his mind got louder and stronger and he felt like his teeth were constantly on edge. The only thing that helped in the slightest was the fact that Ianto hadn't emerged from his room since that first day.

After Jack had left the console room, Ianto had emerged from the kitchen with Rose, looking a little shaky on his feet. Without a word, the Doctor had taken him back to the quiet room and begun to help him improve his mental blocking.

He now knew that it was one of the most important aspects of Ianto's psychic healing process. If he couldn't learn to block again, he would be laid wide open for people to take advantage of him. He also needed to see whether he could help Jack. Whilst Ianto was still his first priority, he couldn't leave the captain in such a state of distress.

Jack, however, couldn't feel it getting any better. On the contrary, the more Ianto's blocking skills improved, the more vivid the memories and nightmares became in Jack's mind.

Jack had gone straight from talking to the Doctor to his room, locking himself in. No one disturbed him. Every few hours, there would be a gentle, tentative knock on the door and he would open it to find a plate of food or a cup of coffee outside. He never saw the young woman who'd placed it there.

It wasn't until he'd endured three days of something close to insomnia that he ventured out of his room, feeling jumpy in his skin, his muscles twitching in protest. He had no concept of the amount of time he'd spent searching the ship, only knowing that he eventually found himself stopping outside the door to Rose's room.

He stood in the open doorway for what felt like hours, wringing his hands together and scratching at his arms as he thought of what he could possibly say. All he knew was that he hadn't felt this rough since going through detox – and he hadn't touched a drug since that day.

After what was only, in actuality, a couple of minutes, the young lady sitting in an armchair across the room from him looked up. Rose hadn't seen or heard Jack since the argument with Ianto. There'd been so many times that she'd wanted to storm in and demand what was going on. She'd almost forced the TARDIS to let her into Jack's room, but she knew better than to think that that would work.

At first, she'd hoped he would come find her and thank her for the food or the drinks, but she realised, after the third time, that he was in a bad way. She knew, after all these months of getting to know him, that this behaviour wasn't in his nature.

So, when she saw him standing in the doorway, looking for all the world like a little boy lost in a strange place, she got up quietly and crossed the room to him.

She took his hands in her own and tried to ignore the shivers and tremors passing through them as she stilled the constant fidgeting. The man carried on looking at the floor, head hung and shoulders slumped, as she pulled him inside, closing the door quietly.

"Jack, when did you last get some sleep?" She asked quietly, tilting his chin up with one hand to look at him properly. He shrugged awkwardly and avoided meeting her eyes. His skin was a little too pale and darkened circles hung below his eyes, which were half shut from exhaustion.

Without another word, she guided him to her bed and settled him under a blanket, quickly dimming the lights to halfway before joining him. She sat next to him and he twisted to rest his head to rest against her thigh, sighing slightly.

"I'm sorry, Rose." He murmured, a hand squeezing her leg gently to apologise for not being able to look up. He simply didn't have the energy. "I'm sorry."

She heard tears in his voice and gently reached down to wipe them from his cheeks, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for, just try to get some sleep." She stroked his hair gently and heard him sigh again, his body relaxing almost instantly. With a smile, she began to hum again, having noticed how it had helped him sleep before.

For a second time, Jack drifted to sleep knowing that he was completely safe. The presence of Rose beside him, warm and comforting as she watched over him, finally let his mind shut down.

*

When Jack woke up, he was alone.

Like an itch in the back of his skull, he knew exactly where everyone else was. He longed to scratch it and make it leave him alone, but there was something in him that made him get to his feet a little wearily. His muscles were aching in protest and blood rushed upwards, making his brain throb and his eyes feel like they were about to pop.

He dropped quickly back down, squeezing his eyes tight and waiting for the terrifying dizziness to pass. It took several minutes, but eventually, he pulled himself slowly back to his feet and made his way out of the room.

He became more awake as he padded back through the ship, heading towards the kitchen. As he passed through the console room, he glanced around, momentarily wondering whether he could just park the TARDIS somewhere peaceful and run off into the sunset.

In the blink of an eye, the thought was gone with a chiding thrum from the ship around him. He was just about to head into the kitchen when a bundle of voices moved towards him, accompanying footsteps. They weren't especially happy, but they were relaxed and calm and Jack couldn't help the ache of resentment that clutched at him.

Resentment for this newcomer not having been his brother, resentment for the ease at which he'd integrated into their lives, resentment at how much better he was than Jack - for it was true. He was damaged from something that hadn't been his choice. He was polite and much more considerate than Jack already, and it had only been a handful of days, where as Jack felt like he'd been tripping spectacularly over every obstacle since the moment he met the two companions all those months ago.

"Jack!" The Doctor's voice was bright as it called his name, but the Time Lord felt the young man beside him freeze and recoil in fear. Jack didn't turn around. "We were thinking about visiting Majora Minor, fancy joining us?"

He simply gripped the TARDIS console beneath his hands a little harder. He couldn't speak, he was just seeing flashes of his anger in Ianto's mind - the worry, the anxiety, everything mixing up and rising in memories of the creatures as he tried desperately to find a name, in case Jack lashed out at him again.

"Jack?" The Doctor's voice was closer and much more concerned. Jack felt a hand on his back but couldn't speak. If he unclenched his jaw, he'd end up regretting it. He did, however, glance over his shoulder, meeting Ianto's eyes accidentally.

For a split second, all was still.

Then a blood curdling scream ripped itself from the darkest depths of Ianto's memories, filling both his and Jack's minds with sheer anguish. Their knees buckled and they fell to the floor at almost the same time. Jack clutched at his head, curling in on himself as Ianto slumped against the floor several metres away, tears flooding from his eyes as he leaned heavily on his arms.

The Doctor looked wildly between them, but had no chance to intervene. He didn't even know what had happened, for Ianto had been shielding this time. Jack knew though. That scream. It was a scream he'd heard once before and had never wanted to hear again.

It belonged to a young man, no more than nineteen or twenty, the visual memory flashing up a split second after the sound. The face was achingly familiar to Jack, even a decade and a half after he'd last seen it. The haunted expression, the raw terror at what was about to happen… All of it as clear as day upon Gray's face. The scream had been just before a set of three inch long, viciously serrated teeth lunged forwards and tore his neck clean open.

Blood went everywhere and the memory ended as Jack wretched emptily on the floor, unable to stop himself.

The Doctor watched in horror, the whole thing having taken no more than a couple of seconds from the moment Jack had looked at Ianto.

The following attack wasn't physical and it wasn't malicious. It was the attack of a man who'd just lost everything, howling at the night to shake off the sudden, bone deep feeling of utter despair. The Doctor only knew this because Ianto threw open his defences and grasped desperately at any support which would stop him from falling adrift amidst the terrifying storm.

Jack's attack wasn't even coherent. There were no words, just pain and grief filled cries and snarls of denial at the bearer of the bad news. He was curled up against the base of the console, hands wrapped over his head as his entire body shook with sobs and tears, his mind snarling like a rabid dog.

The Doctor opened his mind a little to try and balm the wound, but Jack slammed down on the sensation and fought it away. The Time Lord moved physically to Ianto, wrapping a hand around one of his wrists, knowing the skin contact would help strengthen his mental turmoil – for everything Jack was feeling now spilled across to him.

Ianto's mind sluggishly tried to understand what it was hearing and experiencing, but Jack felt the movements, like his presence was inside his head and moving around his thoughts. The reaction from Jack to that sensation was almost allergic. He flinched away physically and mentally slammed as hard as he could against Ianto's mind, sending the young man reeling backwards.

"Get the _fuck_ out of my head!" He snarled his voice raw from tears and grief. Wrenching himself to his feet he staggered from the room as fast as he could, not looking back for a moment to see the young man being held upright by the Doctor. He couldn't bear to see the expression of guilt and remorse on the young man's face and not on the Time Lord's.

From the console room, they heard the slam of Jack's bedroom door. Silence descended on the three. The tension was broken a minute or two later as Rose, previously forgotten for the time it took for the interaction between Jack and Ianto, took a step towards the corridor's entrance.

"Rose, give him some space." The Doctor warned, gripping Ianto tightly as the young man shook with shock and shame. Rose spun around and glared at him.

"No. Doctor, he needs support just as much as Ianto does." Rose snapped, jabbing a finger in his direction before hurrying off after Jack. With a sigh and a vague look of chagrin, the Doctor watched her go before turning his attention to Ianto.

The boy looked about ready to pass out and it was with kind, gentle hands that the Doctor steered him towards the quiet room. His face had lost all its colour and his eyes kept slipping closed. The Doctor now had no doubt that what had happened – the experience of Jack's emotions washing through to him and the consequential attack – had put him in a bad way.

It would need a lot of time and effort to heal over the damage that had just occurred.

* * *

A/N: More either tomorrow or wednesday, depending on how school work goes :)


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Rose had never heard a grown man cry before, but the sight and sound of Jack, curled in the middle of his floor, was possibly the worst experience she'd ever had – topped only by watching her dad die and knowing there was nothing she could've done. But she'd brought that one on herself.

This, though… this was completely different. She stood in the doorway, suddenly wondering just what the hell she was doing. Who was she to interrupt him? If he yelled and screamed at her, it would serve her right…

_But maybe that's what he needs,_ she thought with determination. Her face setting in resolve, she moved across the room, kneeling down next to him and gently placing a hand on his back. He shuddered but curled closer to her, still sobbing like a wounded animal, hands clamped across his face.

Gently, Rose rubbed his back, letting him cry himself to exhaustion as she hummed the same lullaby that had worked so well over the past few days.

She had no idea how long they'd been crouched there, the TARDIS crooning softly, trying to do her part to help Jack through his grief. His body had begun to slip against Rose's grip and she carefully manoeuvred them so that they were lying down, the TARDIS doing her part again to make them comfortable. The floor had softened and dipped slightly, forming a gentle bowl to make them more comfortable.

With a sigh, Rose kissed the top of Jack's head and held him as he sunk into a fitful sleep.

*

_Jack saw things moving in the darkness, homing in on him with their teeth and their claws exposed. Their breath was rancid and he could see strings and flecks of corpses hanging in their teeth, blood staining the gums as they sneered at him. _

_They mocked him and laughed, a sound reminiscent of a hyena having its throat cut in an agonising fashion. They pointed to him and the noise grew louder and Jack curled further in on himself._

_This was the man who'd given them their feast. He'd handed over the little, defenceless boy and they'd had the most delicious fun breaking him. His blood had been hot and thick and he'd tasted so good…_

Jack woke with a scream of fear, clutching to the warm body beside him. Rose was awake in an instant, placing a hand soothingly on his chest, not minding the sweat drenched t-shirt or the red raw skin around his eyes. Jack breathed hard, unable to shift the thoughts and images from his mind.

He began to shake, shock taking control of his limbs once more and Rose shook him gently. His eyes were fixed on a secure spot and she couldn't make him look away.

Her thoughts flew through her options. Should she get the Doctor? Would he be sympathetic enough? Should she force him to look away? Should she slap him? Should she talk to him? The TARDIS hummed to try and calm her and a sudden idea rushed to her head.

Without thinking twice, she grabbed Jack's chin roughly and twisted it towards her, kissing him firmly on unresponsive lips. For a moment, she wondered whether it had been the right move, whether she'd really played to his strengths or whether she'd misjudged him, but then she felt his lips move and the kiss deepen, a strong hand moving to her throat, fingers stroking her skin gently before the kiss softened and Jack pulled away, still breathing deeply.

"Thank you." He spoke in a whisper, his eyes fixed on hers, his thumb running absently across her jaw. She simply smiled at him, not realising her hand was still over his heart.

"It's okay." The moment lasted a little longer before she looked away and around the room. She got up and gathered together the blankets from Jack's bed, lying them over him. His fingers brushed across the back of her leg as she turned to go and she turned round to look at him again.

"Stay?" Jack looked up at her, his eyes suddenly those of the teenager who'd just realised his brother's hand had slipped from his own.

"Of course." She lay back down next to him, letting him wrap his arms around her protectively, his face pressed against her hair. She rested a hand on the arm around her stomach and closed her eyes, letting her mind wander and drift away.

*

The Doctor found her standing barefoot in the kitchen, her hair wet and twisted up into a knot. She yawned as she stirred two cups of tea, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Morning." He spoke with a soft tone that startled her. She spun around, looking more than a little guilty. The Doctor instantly frowned, suspicion beginning to lurk the back of his mind. "Everything okay?"

"What? With me? Yeah, course it is." She shrugged and turned back to the work surface. "Want some tea?"

"Yeah, that'd be great." He moved towards her, resting back against the counter, his arms folded absently as he watched her pour another drink before finishing up the existing two.

"How's Ianto doing?" She asked, her voice a little to conversational.

"He's fine. I had to stay in the room whilst he slept, to keep any residual thoughts from Jack from getting to him. His mind's too sensitised to stand much transference at the moment." The Doctor shrugged a little and took the mug that Rose offered him, making up the final drink to replace it. "How's, urm… Look, I want to apologise for yesterday."

Rose looked up at him sharply.

"I was out of line, I should've made sure Jack was okay. I could see he was upset, but… I didn't want to make it worse." The Time Lord looked sheepishly at his drink before taking a sip. When he looked back up, Rose was smiling gently, her normal countenance back in place.

"You don't understand him, do you?" He shook his head. "He looks up to you so much, Doctor, but you constantly find something else to be busy with when he needs you there for emotional support. It's like you don't pick up on it at all."

"But he's so hard to figure out…" The Doctor trailed off before he made it any worse. He knew he was just making up excuses now.

"He's just a normal guy; needing people there to make him feel loved and wanted. Sometimes you miss out on that a bit." She shrugged and picked up the two mugs on the work surface, padding slowly across the room and looking back for a moment as she reached the door. "Spend a bit of time with him today, don't just focus on Ianto."

The Doctor nodded and watched her leave the room, pondering on her words. Hindsight was a wonderful thing. It was only now that he looked over the past few days that he realised he'd said very little that was constructive or supportive to Jack. He'd been so fascinated and intent on saving Ianto that he'd forgotten his friend.

With a small smile, he took his drink and moved out of the room and through to the console room, moving over to seats and plonking himself down, legs crossed as he stared up at the pulsing column, his thoughts shifting and roaming like water in his mind.

He felt the gentle presence of the TARDIS begin to manipulate the movement, to make a thought drift here and a ripple emerge there. Eventually, she'd twisted his thoughts into perfect alignment, leaving a happy, satisfied sensation in his mind before slipping back to the periphery. The Doctor smiled.

He got to his feet, still holding his now empty mug, and made his way towards Jack's room with a quiet determination.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

He gently eased the door open and found himself looking at a slightly different room that before. Jack lay curled up in an impression in the floor and Rose sat cross legged beside it, sipping her drink and watching over the sleeping man. She looked up at the Doctor and gestured for him to join her.

"How's he doing?" He asked gently as he took his seat, placing his mug on the floor.

"He's okay, I guess. I lost count of how many times nightmares woke him though. The TARDIS soothes him away again as soon as he's up though." Rose reached out and adjusted the blanket over Jack slightly. "It was only the middle of the afternoon, why did he fall asleep in the first place?"

"Psychic shock probably, mixed with the TARDIS being a madam and adjusting the atmosphere just a little bit. I've been feeling sleepy ever since." The Doctor shrugged and Rose 'ahh'ed in realisation, surreptitiously patting the floor beside her in thanks.

Carefully, the Doctor reached out for one of Jack's hands and brushed his fingers against his skin, laying a gentle barrier around him, to add to the intense protection the TARDIS was giving him. She was working hard for the Captain and the Doctor couldn't help but feel like he'd abandoned Jack. Even his ship had noticed how fragile he was.

"Let me know when he wakes up?" He murmured in the general upwards direction and his ship hummed an affirmative. With a small smile, he bid Rose goodbye and shuffled from the room. He walked slowly through the dimly lit corridors, honing his senses to the ship around him. The TARDIS was completely focussed on the two rooms with the sleeping men and the Doctor put a hand to the wall, trailing along as he walked in a soft touch.

He reached the console room and sat down gently in the chair, looking up at the softly pulsing column that rose to the ceiling. She was more subdued than usual, obviously picking up on the horrendous grief, guilt and sympathy that were cloaking everyone on board. He felt her touching the still waters of his mind once more, nudging a ripple of an idea across to him, where he took it and thought.

She would keep them safe, he should take Rose out for a short while whilst they had the chance. She was coming now, he should see whether she wanted to pick anything up from Earth, maybe go visit her mother or something. Right on cue, Rose appeared at the entrance to one of the corridors, her hair dried and dressed for the day in jeans and a t-shirt, a large cardigan pulled around her as she made her way over to sit next to him.

"How're you holding up?" He asked gently, wrapping and arm around her shoulder and letting her rest her head against him. She shrugged.

"I really need some fresh air, to get away from the atmosphere… I mean, I want to help them get better, but I can't if I feel like this." She shuddered slightly and the Doctor tightened his arm a little.

"I was thinking we could touch down somewhere near home for you to get some creature comforts – you know, tea, pizza, fish and chips maybe?" She looked up at him through teary eyes and snorted in disbelief – amused disbelief.

"Yeah, that'd be good. That'd be really good." She said with a slight laugh, sitting up and wiping her eyes on her sleeves. "Should we go wake the others up?"

"Nah, don't worry. The TARDIS will keep them safe whilst we're out." He smiled and stood up, holding out his hand. She looked up at him and took it with a smile, letting herself be pulled to her feet. "I have money this time too, so chips are on me."

He grinned as she laughed and the room felt a little bit lighter as the Doctor dialled in the co-ordinates and time to the console. In only a matter of minutes, albeit rather rough minutes, they were out in the sun in the middle of London.

As they walked away, the TARDIS door locked and she faded out of the public's perception completely.

*

The singing had stopped.

Jack turned uncomfortably on the floor and groaned, his head throbbing and his eyes sore. He tried to sit up, but the world swirled and he dropped back against his pillow. Had he not remembered everything vividly the moment he woke up, he would've thought he'd had an amazing time the night before.

He rolled onto his back, arms splayed out on either side, and stared at the ceiling. He felt thoroughly numb now. He couldn't have cried anymore had he wanted to. His throat scratched with every swallow and every breath and his ears seemed to be clogged up with cotton wool.

He closed his eyes for a long moment, only to have them snapped open once more as a call echoed through to him… no, not an echo, a communication. Without the inhibition to work at a shield, Jack could sense Ianto, see him as he curled up in the dark, sobbing and crying out for help.

An unknown part of him twisted in sympathy for the young man and he resolved to stay in the periphery until the Doctor could get to him.

_Please, someone… Please! … Anyone! _

_The link was raw and frayed with pain and Jack felt himself crawling closer to the broken man, wondering where the Doctor was. Jack could see the memories flickering across mental screen in front of him, filled with grey shadows and sharp teeth, claws emerging from wisps of smoke as darkness consumed everything else. It was terrifying. _

Jack felt him shudder and withdraw completely, curling up his physical body and turning to one side, pleading in whispers to the Doctor to go help him, to save him again.

*

When Jack's eyes drifted open a while later, the crying was screaming, as if in agony and Jack flinched awake, trying, to some extent, to raise his damaged defences against it out of instinct. After a few minutes, he sighed carefully and took a look into Ianto's mind once more.

_He stood and watched as the young man fought with unseen foes, off in the distance, struggling and screaming, slipping away inch by inch. With a start, Jack tried to get closer, only to find he couldn't. Something was holding him back. _

_Then Ianto looked up and met his eyes, screaming his name as he disappeared into blackness._

Jack was up on his feet and running through the TARDIS. He called out for the Doctor at every opportunity by it wasn't until he reached the console room that he got a reply.

_'Jack?!'_ the voice in Jack's mind was startled and Jack swayed to a halt for a moment. _'Jack, what's wrong?'_

_'It's Ianto, he's slipping away, where are you?'_ He pleaded, eyes closed and jaw gritted as he tried to stop himself from screaming in despair.

_'We're out on the planet, but we're too far away.'_ The Doctor said calmly, quieting Jack's startled thoughts as the Captain heard an echo of a scream form Ianto's mind. _'Jack, you need to help him. He'll be lost if you don't.'_

_'I… I can't…'_ but even as he was speaking, Jack was running again, heading to the room where Ianto was and charging into it, the ceiling glowing to show the young man lying completely still, his skin pale and waxy, his breathing shallow. The Doctor's mind was still relaying things to his, but he shut them out. The Doctor couldn't help him now.

With a deep breath, Jack reached out and felt for Ianto's pulse, finding it weak and sluggish beneath his fingers. Slowly, he flexed his hands and clasped Ianto's head, his palms to the younger man's temples.

He felt a jolt of connection running through them, like a door was opened and suddenly they were one being, their minds joining to be two sections of the same room – only Ianto's seemed to stretch on into infinity.


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry, I've had a rough couple of weeks with preparing for a couple of interviews that just didn't go well... I'm really hoping I have somewhere to go next year!

* * *

CHAPTER 12

_Jack found himself wading out into the sluggish darkness around him. It was like every step was a battle and he suddenly wanted to be out of there, to be in his own mind once more, alone and safe from everyone else. A screamed echoed around him, his name. He snapped back to his senses and forced the design of the space of their minds to change._

_The walls and sludgy floor sharpened and smoothed out, becoming like darkened concrete as he headed further in with conviction. _

_'Ianto? Ianto, it's Jack, where are you?' He called into the distance, catching a flash of something pale. Another echo was pleading with him to help, he was lost, he was trapped, he couldn't hold on much longer. _

_Jack didn't know why he was fighting so hard, but something deep within him compelled him to save the young man, no matter the cost – and suddenly he was there, standing on the lip of a ravine, pale fingers gripping to the edge of the yawning cliff. Jack watched as, one by one, the fingers began to lose hold, a morbid countdown. _

_One hand fell from sight with a cry of terror. Jack looked down at the young man and found blue eyes staring up at him, tears coursing across his cheeks and what looked like bruises and scratches across his skin. He whispered one word, 'Please.'_

_Jack reached down, clasped the young man's arm and pulled him up with all his strength. Ianto seemed to weigh as much as ten fully grown men in that moment. It was hard and it was tiring him fast. He managed to grab Ianto's second hand and gripped on until both their knuckles were white. It seemed to give Ianto the strength to fight back, to lash out at whatever was holding him down. He let out a yell of pain as long, sharp claws latched into his legs and pulled him back downwards._

_With a roar of defiance, Jack used every last ounce of his energy to pull Ianto up and away from the shadows, freeing him of his captors and sending them both flying back into a sprawl. Jack just held the young man's shaking form tightly and closed his eyes, shuddering as something seemed to peel back from his mind._

He opened his eyes and he was sitting in the TARDIS once more, slumped over a little, his hands still pressed to Ianto's forehead. The young man was breathing deeper, his eyes restless beneath the closed lids. Jack looked at him and he wasn't seeing the same person as before.

All his hate and disappointment had bled away and he was seeing a vulnerable young man who had lost everything, just like he had. He'd not taken the time to consider what he'd been through, the people he must've lost and the life that had been stolen from him. Slowly, he pulled Ianto up and into his arms, settling his sleeping body between his legs, arms around his chest protectively.

He sighed and closed his eyes again, sorting out the turmoil of thoughts and emotions boiling in his mind again. He was just too tired to fight against them anymore. Grief was still prominent, raw and all consuming, but he didn't have the energy anymore to indulge it. He had been utterly drained from dragging Ianto's consciousness back to him.

There was a hand gripping onto his arm and the body in his grip was shaking slightly, tremors that passed through the young man as Jack opened his eyes and found him staring off into the corner to the room, eyes wide and fixed, tears glistening on his cheeks in the dim light. His fingers were digging into Jack's arms and his legs were tucked up to his chest, desperately seeking security and comfort from Jack's body.

Without really thinking about it, Jack turned Ianto slightly and brought a hand to the young man's face, caressing it gently as he looked up, their eyes meeting in a tentative look. Jack ran a thumb across his jaw and tilted it up a little, pressing a soft, comforting kiss to the soft lips there.

It wasn't hungry or filled with lust. It wasn't playful or teasing. It wasn't an indication or a hint.

It just was.

Jack pulled away little and looked at Ianto as the young man swallowed hard. Neither could quite bring themselves to look away. Ianto opened his mouth slightly, as if to speak, only to close it once more and swallow hard.

"Thank-you." The words were quiet and strained, but Jack nodded his appreciation. He now knew how hard it was for the young man to speak after all this time.

In response, he pulled him into another kiss, this time a little harder and a little more intimate. Ianto's hand moved to Jack's neck, resting there gently as Jack parted his lips a little, encouraging the young man to do the same. He pressed his tongue against Ianto's lightly to find the young man respond in kind, the hand at his neck sliding round a little to pull him closer and deepen the kiss.

It grew frantic and desperate but the undercurrent of comfort remained unchanged. Something had connected them indefinitely the moment Jack had taken Ianto's hands.

*

The Doctor ran through the streets of London, Rose hot on his heels. They'd just finished eating when the Doctor's eyes had slid to one side, a frown creasing his forehead as he'd trailed off from what he'd been saying.

Then they'd run from the park bench and Rose was damned if he beat her. The Doctor had managed to explain the situation, but he'd made the mistake of telling her that if Jack tried to help and was in Ianto's mind when he fell away, it could destroy them both. That had set the fear of God inside her.

She got to the TARDIS only a couple of steps ahead of him and shoved at the door, banging her fists against the wood. The Doctor already knew what had happened and he was going to give his ship hell for it.

"Open up, now." He stood and glared at the small windows at the top of the doors, his voice hard as steel and just as cold. There was a long pause before a faint click was heard and Rose pushed the door open, running straight through the corridors to Ianto's room.

The way seemed longer, more convoluted and she screamed at the ship, her tears flowing now in fear and anger as the TARDIS refused to let her reach the room. She stopped and slumped to the floor, alone in the dark corridor, curled up against the bottom of the wall and knowing that all she could do was wait for the TARDIS to let her go.

There was a soft hum against her back and the cold shadows warmed to pink and orange lights around her – an apology. Rose ran her fingers across the floor next to her and shuddered against the thought of what could be happening to Ianto. What happened when your mind was pulled away from you? It couldn't be good…

Back in the console room, the Doctor had tripped over several gratings and pieces of coral, finding himself only a couple of metres from the door when he finally gave in and sat down. He glared at the pulsing blue lights, but they gave him no notice.

He folded his arms and sat cross legged on the floor, willing himself to calm down. Slowly, as his mind began to ease, the TARDIS lowered the obstacle course around him and he was allowed to approach her monitors in the centre of the room. He carefully made his way to the TV screen and found the TARDIS had already brought up an image of the room Ianto slept in.

He wasn't alone anymore.

The Doctor could see that, propped up on the wall across from where he was viewing form, was Jack, Ianto nestled tightly between his legs, arms around the younger man, Ianto's holding onto Jack's neck as they kissed. His first reaction was to get annoyed with Jack, but there was a flare of warning above him before he promptly changed his mind.

As he watched, he realised that it was more than that. They were sharing themselves to ease their pain and find some comfort. The Doctor could never deny someone that, least of all Jack, no matter what the man thought. With a sigh, he stroked the TARDIS console beneath his fingers.

"Thank-you." He murmured, smiling slightly before letting the TARDIS direct him to where Rose was crouched, a hundred metres or so down a corridor that should have lead to the two men.

As he approached, he sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms. She gripped tightly to his jacket and sniffed, eyes closed as she tried to hide the fact that she'd been crying.

"What's happening?" She whispered, her voice still a little choked.

"They're going to be fine; Jack managed to pull Ianto back with him. They're going to be just fine." He smiled at his words and pressed a kiss to the top of Rose's head. They sat for a while, holding each other as the realisation that their two companions would survive. Finally though, the Doctor got to his feet and pulled Rose up with him. "Come on, we never did that shopping."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and guided her back down the corridor, knowing that the TARDIS was wrapping it in knots behind them.


End file.
